The Finale
by Black Raider
Summary: Last of the mcgormanp series. Rik-Zi, Komodo, Tai Lung, and Taipan are back for revenge. But Rik-Zi's plan is bigger than anyone could've imagined. Can the warriors of the Jade Palace stop him? It'll take more than their kung fu skills.T violence/blood
1. Part oNe

The Finale

Part One

Cobra hissed and fought hard, beating up Komodo with ease.

"You stupid lizard!" Cobra cried. "You are no match for me!"

"We shall see about that!" Komodo yelled. He lunged, but Cobra hit him away.

"You are safe now, Viper." Cobra promised.

"My hero!" Viper cried.

"Hawk!"

Hawk jumped and covered his Komodo, Cobra, and Viper action figures with his wing. "Yes?"

"Are you playing with your toys again?" Cobra demanded.

"Maybe…" Hawk said innocently.

Cobra chuckled. "I swear, you act like more of a kid than Po does."

"Whatever!" Hawk sneers playfully. "How's Viper doing, anyway?"

"Great." Cobra said excitedly. "It's been eight months since we were married."

"I hear someone's going to be a dad soon." Hawk said slyly. At Cobra's look, he added, "Like I said: I see all, know all."

Cobra suddenly remembered. "I should get home. See ya!" He quickly slithered out and back to his house. Slithering inside, he saw Viper, asleep and curled around four eggs. Cobra slithers over, and Viper quickly shoots up. She relaxed and smiled slyly when she saw her husband.

"What's with the reflexes?" Cobra inquired.

"You never know." Viper shrugged.

Tokay came in, checking the eggs. He made a pretty good doctor, but he never told anyone where he learned. "Everything seems to be fine." He said. "They should hatch in three days, and you'll be having two boys and two girls."

Cobra and Viper were excited as they thanked Tokay, who left for the Jade Palace.

"What should we name them?" Viper wondered aloud. The two snakes thought about it for a couple hours before they finally decided the boys would be named Gaboon and Vishnu and the girls would be named Vibora and Paravatti. Then, they went to sleep.

The next day, Xai and Po were playing cards, but Xai seemed distracted.

"Something bothering you?" Po wondered.

"Sort of." Xai confessed. "I mean, the Ruby Palace found me on their doorstep when I was a baby. I was just wondering who my father was."

"Sorry, can't help you much there." Po shrugged. "But, according to text, your dad was one of the three kung fu warriors that defeated the Obsidian Empire. Oogway was one, too."

"Tokay told you that, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Po said.

Xai sighed. "I wish I had gotten to know him. I mean, my master was a pretty great dad, not only to me but to the other students there. But he didn't know who my parents were either."

Tigress came in, smiling broadly. "Hey, boys. You know, Panther and Bengal are getting married in a week. Xai, Panther wants you to be his best man."

"Sure." Xai shrugged. "I'd love to." Xai laid down his cards. "Read em' and weep!"

Po grumbled something about the game being rigged, and then walked off.

Tigress turned to Xai, her hand on her neck. "You know, when you went missing, I gave you my mother's necklace?"

Xai thought about it for a while. "Uh….yeah, I do."

"What did you do with it?" Tigress asked.

Xai thought for a long time. "I can't remember." Then, it hit him. "Oh yeah! I think I left it at the Sapphire Palace."

"You what?" Tigress exclaimed. "That belonged to my mother!"

"I was hit on the head! With a large rock! By Saimang the stupid gibbon!" Xai protested.

Tokay overheard them as he passed by. "Tigress, did that necklace have any runes on it?"

Tigress thought about it. "Yeah, it did. I could read them, but I never understood what they meant."

"Can you write them down?" Tokay asked. Tigress nodded and wrote down the runes from her mother's necklace. Then, Tokay left so the two cats could talk. As Tokay wandered off to his room, he studied the runes. He realized that they were for removing the powers from someone that got them from a spirit creature. Tokay hid the paper away in his desk.

That night, Panther and Bengal sat under the peach tree.

Bengal sighed. "Remember when we were young, and you used to be so shy when you were around me?"

Panther chuckled. "Well, you used to beat me in every sparring match we ever had." The two of them kept talking for a while until Po, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, and Tokay came up.

"Hey guys." Tokay said. "Viper and Cobra's eggs are supposed to hatch in three days."

"Well, good for them." Bengal said.

"Good to know that our future kids will have playmates." Panther added. Po seemed troubled. "Something wrong?"

"Not really." Po said. "I was just wondering…remember those spirit creatures that helped us with the Leviathan?" Everyone nodded simultaneously. "Remember how Komodo, Rik-Zi, Tai Lung, and Taipan fought them?" Again, simultaneous nodding. "Well, you ever wonder what happened to them; you know, Rik-Zi, Komodo, Tai Lung, and Taipan?"

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Turns out, those four villains were at the Sapphire Palace ruins. Having gained the powers of the spirit creatures they defeated, they even gained some of the creature's physical traits. Tai Lung had horns, and his snow leopard tail was replaced with a serpent tail like a Chimera. Komodo had wings and breathed fire. Rik-Zi had feathery wings and pyrokinetic powers like a Phoenix. Taipan had three heads like a Naga.

The four of them dug thru the rubble a bit before Rik-Zi found the Tengu Scroll in the hand of a skeleton.

"We don't even have the eight scrolls." Taipan's first head hissed.

"How are supposed to activate the scroll?" his second head demanded.

"Are you really so stupid?" his third head teased.

"Yeah!" all three heads agreed.

Rik-Zi growled. "Oh shut up you three! We don't need the other scrolls. My powers allow me to activate the scroll myself." Rik-Zi focused on his powers. Soon, the Tengu Scroll started glowing and shaking. Rik-Zi tossed the scroll up into the air, and in a flash of light, the great Tengu Army stood before the four villains. The warriors were humanoids with crow's heads, feet, and claws. Their weapons consisted of katanas, Naginatas, and Yumi bows and arrows. They wore samurai armor.

"Perfect." Rik-Zi laughed. "Come! Let us go and attack the Jade Palace!" The four villains and the army left.

They didn't see the skeleton finger move.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

The next day, at the Jade Palace, Cobra volunteered to watch the eggs, so Viper went to visit Tigress. The two friends, having not heard from each other for a while, had a lengthy conversation.

After a while, Tigress sighed. "You know, I think I'd like to marry Xai someday."

Po suddenly poked his head into Viper's room, where the girls were talking. "I think Xai would most likely marry you."

"Why are you eavesdropping?" Tigress demanded.

"Relax!" Po whined. But he yelped when Tigress suddenly chucked a scroll at his head.

Po ducked, and the scroll hit Crane, who had been walking by. He gave off a bird-like squawk and came into the room rubbing his head.

"Ow…." Crane muttered. "You know, Xai's not the most responsible. I don't think he'd be ready for marriage." Tigress growled her disagreement and stalked out of the room.

"I think you might've touched a nerve there." Po mumbled.

Crane rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "So Viper, how's Cobra doing?"

"Great!" Viper said happily. "He's very excited about being a father. He even got all the infant supplies."

"Didn't he get that stuff like seven months ago?" Crane asked. The three of them laughed.

Then, Po's face went solemn.

"What's wrong?" Crane asked.

"Nothing…I just…." Po sighed. "I wish Shifu could be here. You know, to see the next generation of warriors."

The three warriors went silent. Viper smiled softly and wrapped her tail around Po's paw. "Hey, it's okay. We all miss him." Po nodded, his eyes wet. Then, he turned and walked off.

A couple hours later, Xai took a trip to Mr. Ping's and was surprised to find Po working there.

"You work here?" Xai asked.

"I _live _here." Po rephrased. "Mr. Ping's my dad." Po came out and the two of them sat down at a nearby table. "Yeah, so Mr. Ping is my adoptive dad, and he owns this restaurant. Our house is right upstairs."

"Nice." Xai commented. "So, listen, I once met this panda named Kappa who told me he once worked with my father in the war. I think he, my father, and Oogway were the three warriors that defeated the Obsidian Empire. Have you ever heard of Kappa?"

"Uh, no, I've never heard of him." Po admitted.

Mr. Ping overheard them as he passed. "Kappa? Po, that was your father."

"Excuse me?" Po was pretty shocked.

"He gave you to me so you'd be safe." Mr. Ping said.

"Why would he do that?" Po wondered aloud.

"The war was still going on, and you were motherless." Mr. Ping admitted in a pained voice. "He just wanted you to have a normal life until the war was over." Mr. Ping walked off.

"Wow." Po breathed. "That's so cool!" Then, he frowned. "But the war's been over for at least three decades. You'd think he'd come for me by now. Where do you think he is?"

Xai's eyes were filled with grief. "Rik-Zi killed him ten years ago. For all I know, he's buried under five feet of rubble."

Po's fists clenched, and he got up, sulking to his room and muttering, "Rik-Zi's going to pay."


	2. Part Two

The Finale

Part Two

A couple miles from the Valley of Peace, Rik-Zi and his army started the plan.

"Taipan, take the long way around." Rik-Zi ordered. "See if you can take down some of the warriors. We'll attack tomorrow." Taipan's three heads nodded and he slithered off.

Meanwhile, at the palace, Mantis and Tokay were sparring. Tokay was getting to be very good at kung fu, and Mantis was happy to have a sparring partner his size. Then, he noticed a glow out of the corner of his eye, and he turned, staring. Tokay landed a kick and Mantis slammed into a wall.

"Don't lose focus." Tokay teased. Mantis said nothing, but instead pointed inside the Sacred Hall of Warriors, where the glow was coming from. The warrior and the scribe walked in and found the Ki-Rin Scroll activating by itself. The Ki-Rin appeared, standing tall and proud.

"Greetings, warriors." The Ki-Rin said. "I come with a warning. The evil Rik-Zi and his minions are coming with the Tengu Army. Their power is great, and only with the Chimera Armor can you hope to defeat them."

"The Chimera Armor?" Mantis asked.

"It is a legendary armor that can make the wearer nearly unstoppable." The Ki-Rin explained. "But, another warning to the two of you: the person who wears this armor to fight the Tengu Army will most likely die from it. Good luck." The Ki-Rin disappeared, and Mantis stared at the spot he once occupied.

"Well, we're doomed." Mantis said. "Better find a new palace."

"No, we're not." Tokay said. "Ten years ago, I found the Chimera Armor and kept it safe at the Quartz Palace. I grabbed it after we left the ruins when Komodo first came."

"Then there might still be hope!" Mantis cried. The two of them rushed off and gathered the others. Tokay explained what the Ki-Rin had told him and Mantis. He also told them that the runes on Tigress' necklace could take away the powers that Rik-Zi, Komodo, Taipan, and Tai Lung have.

"But it's lost in the Sapphire Palace ruins." Tigress protested.

Tokay thought for a moment. "Alright, here's the plan. Po, you take Tigress, Panther, and Bengal with you and find that necklace. We're gonna need somebody to take the Chimera Armor and fight Rik-Zi and the Tengu Army head on to stall them. Anyone care to volunteer?"

Nobody was that willing. Since the Ki-Rin predicted that the person who did that would most likely die, nobody was up to dying.

Then, Xai stood up. "I'll do it."

"You realized that's suicidal!" Po reminded him.

"I've been the cause of ten years of suffering and death." Xai growled. "This is the only way I'll redeem myself."

"Well, if we're going to do this, we'd better do it now." Monkey said. The group split up, but Tigress grabbed Xai's arm.

"You can't do this." She said. "You could be killed."

"I know." Xai shrugged as he kept walking.

"Please don't do this." Tigress begged.

"Look, remember when I said that I would always have feelings for you, and you said the same thing?" Xai asked. "Remember that; if I live, I'll marry you." Xai gave her a kiss and rushed off.

Po put a comforting paw on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get that necklace. And don't worry about Xai. He knows how to keep his head in the right place." Tigress sighed and followed him, Panther, and Bengal as they journeyed off at top speeds. Tokay showed Xai the armor, which looked like samurai armor that was fiery red, but no helmet. Xai donned the armor and grabbed the Sword of Heroes. He ran off into the night, only looking back once.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR _

Soon, Po, Tigress, Bengal, and Panther arrived at the Sapphire Palace ruins. They started to search for the necklace. They had to dig thru at least seven feet of rocks and rubble. Then, Po cried out.

"I found it!" he yelled. He held up the small, square-shaped hunk of ruby that had etchings all over the front. Suddenly, Komodo knocked it out of his hand and attacked, only to be intercepted by Panther and Bengal. Tai Lung attacked Po, Tigress helping the panda. Rik-Zi, having seen the group as they were running off, ordered the komodo dragon and snow leopard to kill them. So the two groups were forced to engage in battle.

As Po and Tai Lung fought, Po could see doubt in Tai Lung's eyes. The panda grabbed Tai Lung's serpent tail and held it tightly. "Tai Lung, why are you doing this?"

"Revenge!" Tai Lung snapped. "I was supposed to be the Dragon Warrior, and Shifu shouldn't have denied me it!"

"First off, Oogway denied you it." Po corrected. "Second, Shifu was obeying his master. And besides, he's dead. You've already gotten your revenge." Po let go of the serpent tail, and it didn't strike. "Rik-Zi doesn't care about you; he'll kill you off once he's bored with you." Tai Lung was frozen where he stood for a long time.

_He's right. _Tai Lung thought. _All this time, I just wanted revenge on Shifu. But since he's dead, I've already be avenged. _Tai Lung nodded and helped Po up. Then, the snow leopard rushed off and tackled Komodo before the lizard could lay down the final blow on Bengal.

"Komodo, listen to the panda." Tai Lung urged. "He's right."

"Rik-Zi would never betray me." Komodo hissed. "He's my master!"

"You just want to believe that." Tai Lung snarled. "You want to believe that because your parents kicked you out of the house. You spent most of your life on the streets, stealing food and money to live. You came to the Jade Palace hoping to find a family, not to be a good fighter." Komodo hissed menacingly, even though it was all true. "Face it; you're nothing but a big, whiny baby!"

Komodo lunged, and the two of them started to fight viciously. Po, Panther, Tigress, and Bengal stared at them. Komodo flew up high and breathed fire. Tai Lung slashed at the lizard and tore open his flesh.

Then, it was over.

Tai Lung's serpent tail bit into Komodo's throat while Tai Lung's claws were stabbing the lizard's chest.

Komodo's claws sliced open Tai Lung's chest, right over the leopard's heart, and the lizard blew flames into the cat's heart.

In a devastating blow and a bright flash of light, the two villains were killed. Reduced to a cloud of mist, they blew away into the wind.

The four warriors were in complete and utter shocked silence…

…until a piercing scream broke it.

Po jumped at least ten feet in the air. A skeleton hand was sticking out of the rubble. "That hand just grabbed my ankle!"

"Po, it's a skeleton hand!" Tigress said. "It's probably not attached to anything! And even if it was, it's dead!"

"It still grabbed me!" Po whined.

Bengal rolled her eyes as she pulled the hand up. It was revealed to be the skeleton of a gavial. "Well, it _is _attached to something after all."

"It still grabbed me." Po insisted. "Who do you think this is?"

"It's Gavial!" Tigress cried. She explained to the others that Gavial was a bounty hunter who helped save Master Shifu after he was taken by Rik-Zi. "Then, he sacrificed himself to save our lives."

"Wow." Po breathed. He couldn't believe that this was the same guy that had saved the life of his master.

Suddenly, the skeleton stirred!

"It's haunted!" Po screamed.

"Scatter!" Panther ordered. The group hid behind bits of the ruins and watched the skeleton.

The skeleton of Gavial stirred and slowly stood up. He wobbled a bit once on his feet, but soon gained his balance. He looked around, then at himself. He flexed his fingers, then his jaw, and even his tail. He went on all fours and shook the dust off of him. He stood up straight and sighed.

"Not my first choice for an avatar." Gavial's skeleton said. "But it works."

Po stared at the skeleton. He, Tigress, Bengal, and Panther emerged from their hiding places and confronted the skeleton.

"Master Shifu?" Tigress asked.

"You could say that." Shifu nodded. "I thought I'd come down to help, but didn't know how. Gavial's skeleton seemed to be the only think available at the moment. Tigress, get the necklace. We have to get back to the palace." Tigress nodded and went off to get it.

"Glad to see you." Po said.

"Pretty good to be back for a while." Shifu admitted. Tigress came back with the necklace and the five of them left.

The next day, in the Valley of Peace, everyone was up and alert, waiting for…..well, whatever came at them.

Cobra was at his house, watching over his eggs. After hearing about Rik-Zi, he was starting to get extremely worried about them. When he heard flapping wings, he stood poised to strike, his fangs out and his hood spread. But he relaxed when Crane came flying in thru the window.

"Anything happen?" Crane asked.

"Everything's fine here." Cobra said. "What about the village?"

"Nothing." Crane admitted. "I flew around the entire village and warned everyone, but it's so quiet; Rik-Zi's and his friends are nowhere in sight." Crane cast a glance at the eggs and smiled. "You know, maybe I was wrong about that whole, 'kids are a bunch of trouble' thing." Cobra smiled. He and Crane had a heavy discussion about kids a month previous.

"Glad to hear that." Cobra said. "You know, I told you that Viper and I wanted you to become a godfather to one of our kids. Care to take your pick?"

Crane glanced down at the eggs. "I think I'll put my trust in Vishnu, if he's anything like his dad."

"What's wrong with that?" Cobra demanded.

"Well….." Crane smirked and the boys laughed.

Viper slithered in, smiling. "Aw, how nice to see you two getting along." She smiled down at the eggs, huddled together in the blanket they rested in. "They'll be hatching any minute now."

"I know." Cobra was getting a bit jittery with excitement.

"I'm happy for both of you." Crane said. "I can't wait to-" Suddenly, he froze. "Someone's here." The three of them whipped around just as Taipan appeared, and Crane deflected an attack from the three-headed snake.

Taipan laughed. "So, you two actually married." He gestured towards Viper and Cobra. "How pathetic. You should've stuck with me, Viper. Just look at what Rik-Zi has gotten me!"

"You mean the extra heads and even bigger ego?" Crane mocked.

"You will be silent you insufferable-" Taipan stopped. Everyone listened closely and averted their gazes towards the eggs, which started cracking. Before they knew it, holes appeared in the eggs, and out came little baby snakes. Cobra, Viper, and Crane were so busy staring at them that they never noticed Taipan until the monster rushed forward and grabbed one of the babies. Viper, in fear and rage, rushed to attack him, but Crane held her back. One look and she got the message: attack Taipan and the kid could get hurt.

Taipan smirked triumphantly, but then Monkey, Mantis and Tokay rushed in. Monkey grabbed a knife from the kitchen table and sliced off two of Taipan's heads. Taipan screamed in pain and dropped the snake baby, whom Mantis caught and returned to Cobra. Cobra set the baby down and they all watched with horror as two heads grew from each of the stumps on Taipan, making him have five heads. The snake rushed outside, the warriors right on his tail. It was a bit difficult to fight Taipan, seeing how he had five heads and seemed a bit bigger. One villager, in a fleeting moment of bravery, rushed out and sliced off one of Taipan's heads with a farming axe. But two more heads grew, Taipan grew in size, and one of the new heads grabbed the villager and flung him into a fruit stand.

Somehow, as Taipan and the warriors fought, he kept getting heads chopped off. And every time that happened, two more heads grew and Taipan got bigger. Soon, Taipan had fifty heads and was huge. The villagers had run off, but Crane, Viper, Cobra, Mantis, Monkey, Tokay, and the just appeared Hawk kept fighting. Hawk fought hard, slashing out the eyes of the few heads that were attacking him. Taipan's tail suddenly smashed into the top of the watchtower, and the bell fell down towards the bird. Hawk looked up and could only watch as the bell came towards him, too fast for him to move.

He would've been crushed, but then a cheetah rushed past at top speed, grabbing him along the way. A monitor lizard and a gliding frog followed the girl.

"You alright?" the female cheetah asked.

"Yeah." Hawk nodded.

"Good." The cheetah said. "We'll take it from here." The cheetah started barking orders. "Surnam, help those warriors fight! Jake, find that snake's weak point!"

"You got it, Cheetah!" Surnam and Jake called.

Cheetah joined Surnam as they fought. Jake went into a meditative position. Soon, his eyes snapped open. "His weak point is in his chest! Hey you!"

"Hawk."

"Hawk." Jake nodded. "Grab that bell!" Hawk nodded. Crane, understanding, flew over and helped carry the bell to the top of the broken tower. Jake gave the word, and the three of them pushed the bell off the tower. Everyone scattered as the bell hit Taipan's chest. Not only did it crush his rib cage, but the snake/Naga disappeared in a cloud of mist.

The warriors gathered around, and Crane and Monkey introduced the others to Cheetah, Jake, and Surnam, their old friends from the Ruby Palace.

"Where's Xai?" Surnam asked Crane quickly.

"How do you know he's alive?" Crane asked. "We watched the city crumble."

"We heard about a clouded leopard named Saber." Cheetah explained. "But after investigating further, we discovered that he was actually Xai. Now where is he?"

"He went to face Rik-Zi and the Tengu Army." Mantis told her. "Alone."

"What?" Cheetah exclaimed. She ran off with her intense speed to stop her friend from being killed.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Xai stood before the great Tengu Army, Chimera Armor and Sword of Heroes on his side. A great storm was overhead, making rain pour down, thunder crash, and lightning flash.

Rik-Zi stood on a podium in the middle of his army. "Ready for death, I assume?"

"Yeah." Xai said. "Yours."

"You're a foolish boy." Rik-Zi mocked. He turned casually to his army. "Kill him." And he spread his wings and flew off.

The battle began.

The archers of the army launched a volley of arrows. Xai deflected most with his sword and the rest ricocheted off his armor and back at the army, killing a few warriors. Xai rushed forward and slashed the Sword of Heroes right thru some of the surprised warriors, who turned to dust. The rest of the army rushed forward, but once Xai cut thru about another twenty of them, the rest just surrounded the clouded leopard.

"So…..guys…." Xai stood ready with his sword. "Any ideas for a future kid's name?"

The Tengu warriors suddenly relaxed, but they seemed confused. They started muttering out suggestions, Xai nodding with interest.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Rik-Zi screamed from his unseen hiding place. "KILL HIM ALREADY!" The Tengu Army suddenly charged, and Xai kept fighting. One warrior came in with his katana, but Xai sliced thru the blade before decapitating the warrior himself. He sliced another warrior with a yumi bow in half. With every warrior that was killed, that warrior turned to dust. Xai got thru about half of the warriors when he suddenly thought of a name.

"Thylaceo…" he muttered. That was his master's name.

Suddenly, a Tengu warrior grabbed an arrow and stabbed Xai in the leg. Xai screamed in pain and went down to his knees, stabbing the Tengu warrior in the head. The rest came at him, but he was already having an adrenaline rush. Then, Xai was fighting like a madman, cutting and slicing thru what was left of the Tengu Army until at last, he thrust the sword into the final warrior's heart.

Xai stopped, breathing hard. He was covered in small cuts and the larger one from the fallen Tengu. The Sword of Heroes was still intact, with barely any scratches. The Chimera Armor was still stable, but looked like it had been attacked by a demonic cat.

Xai didn't have long to relax. Rik-Zi, furious at Xai for destroying his army, suddenly rushed in and attacked, launching a wave of fire at the leopard. Xai managed to dodge and swung the Sword of Heroes at the villain. Rik-Zi dodged, but grabbed the sword and heated it with his powers. Xai dropped the sword, his paws burning. Rik-Zi launched another wave of fire and, though Xai was able to dodge, his fur was singed. Rik-Zi charged in, using his powers to burn Xai, kicking and punching the leopard, slamming him into trees, and…well, I'm just gonna sum it all up and say that Rik-Zi gave Xai the beating of a lifetime. Even his Chimera Armor couldn't protect him.

Then, Rik-Zi grabbed Xai by the straps of his armor and flew up high into the air. Rik-Zi flew so high that they were as close to space as possible. Then, the salamander dropped the already half-dead clouded leopard down towards earth. Rik-Zi watched with pleasure, waiting for the devastating crash into the ground that would kill Xai.

But, at the last second, a flash of yellow appeared, and Xai was gone from sight.

Rik-Zi flew down and looked around, but saw no one.

"No matter." Rik-Zi mused. He grabbed the Sword of Heroes from the ground. "I'll take care of things myself."

Meanwhile, at the Jade Palace, the warriors had regrouped after the fight with Taipan.

"You think Cheetah's alright?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, she's been gone a while." Surnam agreed.

"She's fine." Crane assured. "I don't know her well, but I'm sure she and Xai are fine."

Suddenly, Cheetah burst into the room, out of breath and supporting Xai's broken form. Everyone was on their feet in an instant.

"Somebody help me." Cheetah gasped. "He's hurt really bad."


	3. Part Three

The Finale

Part Three

Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Hawk, Cheetah, Jake, Surnam, Cobra, Viper, and their kids waited in the hallway outside the infirmary. Tokay was inside, checking on Xai. When he came out, the gecko had a solemn look.

"How is he?" Surnam asked.

"He has broken legs, internal bleeding, battered ribs…the list goes on." Tokay grumbled. "In other words, I don't think he'll make it thru the night."

Jake had been meditating when his eyes snapped open. "More bad news: Rik-Zi's going to be here in a couple hours." Jake turned to Cheetah. "We have to find Tigress and the others. They're at the Sapphire Palace; tell them about Xai."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Cheetah said. With that, she sprinted off towards the ruins.

_Poor Tigress._ Viper thought. _And she wanted to marry Xai._

Meanwhile, as Po, Panther, Bengal, Tigress, and Shifu/Gavial journeyed back to the palace, Bengal was the first to notice the yellow blur that was Cheetah sprinting towards them. The warriors prepared for battle, but relaxed when Shifu and Tigress explained who Cheetah was.

"Is something wrong?" Po asked.

"Good news and bad news." Cheetah said simply. "Good news: Xai defeated the Tengu Army. Bad news: Rik-Zi gave him the beating of a lifetime. He's in the infirmary at the Jade Palace, but Tokay doubts he'll last the night." The group was shocked, but they didn't notice Tigress' tears streaming down her face.

"We _have _to get back to the palace and stop Rik-Zi." Shifu ordered. "And we need to get there fast before…." He suddenly stopped. "Where's Tigress?" Everyone looked around, but the tiger was nowhere to be seen. Shifu did find her mother's necklace and grabbed it.

"Where could she have gone?" Panther wondered aloud.

"Well, let's worry about that later." Cheetah urged. "We have to get to the valley before Rik-Zi does." The others nodded and they rushed off.

As it turns out, Tigress was running as fast as she could to the Imperial Palace. She didn't stop until she was in the throne room, where Atlas was sitting on his throne of gold.

"Atlas….." Tigress panted. Then, she gained her breath and bowed. "Emperor….Atlas…."

"No need for formalities." Atlas chuckled.

"Atlas, Xai is hurt and probably dying." Tigress panted a little. "I need the healing potion you have. I know it's for this Son of Chaos, but you can't understand how-"

"Tigress, calm down." Atlas comforted the tiger. "You are destined to have the potion." Tigress stared at the moth. "You, my child, are the Daughter of Order, who must save the Son of Chaos."

"Xai…." Tigress realized.

"So that the two of you can have the Neutral Child." Atlas finished. He removed the potion bottle from the Phoenix's claw above his throne and handed it to Tigress. "Go; save the Son of Chaos and defeat Rik-Zi once and for all." Tigress bowed and thanked Atlas numerous times as she ran out the doors and back to the Jade Palace.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Everyone at the palace was ready for battle. Once Po, Bengal, Panther, and Shifu had gotten back to the palace and everyone there got over the shocking fact that the skeleton was the old master, they formed a plan. Po and Shifu would guard the scrolls in case Rik-Zi came after them, Viper volunteered to guard her children, and the rest of the group stood watch around the palace, waiting for the crazed salamander. Xai was still hurt and in the infirmary.

But they should've been with Po and Shifu, because Rik-Zi came after them first. Shifu came to fight the salamander off, but Rik-Zi used the Sword of Heroes, still in his possession, and sliced the old master's skeleton head off. Po, shocked by the swift move, was caught off guard, and defeated easily. Rik-Zi took the centerpiece and the scrolls and summoned all the creatures at once. Po could only watch as Rik-Zi defeated all the creatures with ease and absorbed their powers. What happened next was Rik-Zi's amazing yet terrifying transformation.

Having defeated all the creatures and gained their powers, Rik-Zi had a trait from each of them. Rik-Zi had the Leviathan's head, the Dragon's scales, the Behemoth's body and size, the Yeti's arms, the Phoenix's wings, the Chimera's horns, the Ki-Rin's mane and three Naga heads for a tail. He also transformed the Sword of Heroes into a giant black sword.

The group that was down by the arena heard the ruckus and rushed up, only to find Rik-Zi in his monster form.

"At last!" Rik-Zi laughed. "With my powers, I shall finally flood this valley and create my glorious empire! And nothing can stop me!"

"You're crazy!" Panther retorted.

"I know." Rik-Zi countered. He broke thru the doors and headed out towards the village. The others followed him, but Po tripped over Shifu's skeleton. He yelped when the skeleton stood up, grabbed its head, and replaced it on his body. Po stared at his master, his mouth agape.

"Close your mouth before you catch something unwanted." Shifu ordered. He and Po rushed off to help the others.

Cheetah managed to attract Rik-Zi's attention and lured the monster away from the village and into the forest. The rest of the warriors moved in to attack. Shifu and Po managed to catch up a few minutes later, Shifu ordering everyone to stand back.

"What are you going to do?" Po asked warily.

"I'm going to try and stop Rik-Zi with Tigress' necklace." Shifu said. But Rik-Zi spotted the old master and growled. He crushed Shifu's skeleton under his fist, grabbed the necklace and broke it against a large rock. The warriors of the Jade Palace were pretty shocked and didn't know what to do. Shifu's skeleton avatar had been crushed into a pile of lifeless, broken bones.

Suddenly, Po heard someone shout, "Move!" He looked up and saw a bunch of rocks crashing down, and he ushered everyone out of the way. Once they were out of danger, Po looked around and saw that the person who had saved their lives was Master Shifu's ghostly form.

"We have to stop him." Shifu urged.

"How?" Panther demanded. "We don't have the necklace."

"We have to try." Po agreed. Everyone was a bit reluctant, but they all agreed that they'd rather go down fighting than let Rik-Zi win. So they rushed off to battle. But, as they did, Shifu caught sight of an orange and black blur rush by.

"Tigress?" Shifu breathed. He followed his top student as she rushed to the Jade Palace. The two of them journeyed to the infirmary, where both were shocked to see Xai's battered and bloody body.

"What happened to him?" Shifu asked.

Tigress whipped around and almost screamed. "Master?"

"Rik-Zi crushed Gavial's skeleton." Shifu explained. "Now, I'm just a ghost. Now what happened to Xai?"

"He faced and defeated the Tengu Army alone." Tigress said. "But Rik-Zi did this to him." Tigress pulled out the vile of the healing potion. She carefully poured the final drop of the liquid into Xai's mouth. Instantly, right before Tigress and Shifu's eyes, Xai's wounds closed up. In about thirty seconds, Xai was sitting up and rubbing his head a little.

"It worked." Tigress breathed.

Xai smiled when he saw her. "You know, I was thinking….I think that a good name for our kid would be Thylaceo."

Tigress chuckled. "I think it's perfect."

"Same here." Shifu agreed. It was then that Xai noticed the ghostly master, and he nearly jumped thru the roof.

"How in the-"

"Don't ask." Shifu pleaded. "Now's not the time."

"He's right." Tigress said. "Po and the others need help." The three of them ran off, but not before Tigress grabbed the sheet of paper that had the runes from her mother's necklace on it.

Shifu took one look and sighed. "You really are the Daughter of Order."

"You knew?" Tigress asked as they kept going.

"Atlas and I talked about it." Shifu admitted. "And I knew you were destined for something bigger and greater than being a famous kung fu warrior." The three of them made it outside and saw Rik-Zi standing at the top of the mountain.

"Finally!" Rik-Zi boasted. Po and the others were in the palace arena, wounded and unable to do anything. "Thus begins my empire!"

"Not today." Tigress growled. She took out the paper and read the runes from her mother's necklace. However, no one really knew what she was saying, and they knew it was an ancient language of the gods.

Rik-Zi saw what Tigress was doing and tried to stop her, but he couldn't. His entire form, bit by bit, started turning to stone. Soon, there was a full stone statue, which crumbled into dust. Rik-Zi's scream still rang in everyone's ears as the dust blew away into the wind.

Everyone gathered in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, mostly to congratulate Tigress for finally killing Rik-Zi once and for all. Then, Tigress noticed Shifu standing off to the side, staring at Oogway's shrine. Everyone noticed this as well.

"Uh…..Master Shifu?" Po asked. The ghost master turned to his students and their friends.

"Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No." Shifu said. "My time on this earth is done. I'm going to meet Master Oogway in the afterlife."

"You can't stay?" Po asked hopefully.

"Of course not." Shifu retorted. "But I'm glad that Rik-Zi's finally gone. Well done to all of you. And, uh, Xai….." Shifu turned to the clouded leopard. "…you be sure to treat my daughter well."

No one knew who was more embarrassed, the tiger or the leopard.

"Well, I give you all the best." Shifu said. "And I bid thee a sad farewell." Shifu bowed to the warriors, who did the same to the master. Then, Shifu's form flickered and disappeared.

_ONE YEAR LATER_

Viper and Cobra watched as their toddlers played with the Adversary. Panther and Bengal, being married for over a year, had a boy and a girl wrestling with each other. Po walked over to Xai and Tigress. The two of them have been also married for quite a while, and they had a single child, the Neutral Child, named Thylaceo, as promised.

"He'll grow up to be a strong warrior." Po assured. "Especially with his parents' heritage."

"Indeed." Tigress said.

"Po, I'd like it if you would be Thylaceo's godfather." Xai said.

"Me?" Po questioned.

"If anything happens and we can't take care of him, I wouldn't trust anyone more than you to take care of him." Po smiled and nodded in acceptance. Soon, it got dark. Viper and Cobra gathered their four children and journeyed home. Upon arriving, they found Hawk messing with something on the table.

"What are you doing?" Cobra asked.

Hawk quickly covered his action figures. "Nothing!" He grabbed the little figures and flew off to his room.

"Uncle Hawk." Viper chuckled. "Still acts like a kid, as always." The two snakes put their kids to bed and soon went to sleep themselves.

Back at the Jade Palace, Bengal, Panther, Tigress, and Xai put their own kids to bed. Po was the last to go to bed, but stopped briefly and checked on little Thylaceo.

"Goodnight, my little warrior." Po whispered.

Elsewhere, in Tokay's room, the gecko was fast asleep, a writing quill in his hand. On his desk was a large book, labeled "A Warrior's Travels".

Suddenly, a gust of mysterious wind blew thru the window and opened the book, flipping thru the pages. Written upon the pages was Tokay's writing…and of all the adventures that happened. Komodo's attack on the Quartz Palace with Saber, Chameleon, and Gaur; Shifu's poisoning; learning the powers of the eight scrolls; the invasion of the Imperial Palace; Ganesha's summoning of the Behemoth; Shifu sacrificing himself to save everyone; the Leviathan's attack; Bengal and Panther reuniting; Komodo, Taipan, Tai Lung, and Rik-Zi gaining their powers; Rik-Zi gaining ultimate power; Shifu returning to their world…

Everything that led up to Rik-Zi's final defeat.

At the bottom of the final page were theses words:

"At last, there is peace in the valley."

Shifu and Oogway's ghostly form appeared next to the book. Shifu smiled as he closed the book.

"They've done well." Oogway said.

THE END

A/N: Done! At last! Now I can work on my other stories! And it'll be one story finished at a time, I assure you!


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